I'm sure this has been beaten over the head with a hammer on here, but I just want to make sure.

I went through and "FBI Approved Channeler" to get mine done, and after paying the extra money it turns out the check is not official and so cannot be Apostilled.

Then I heard you can call your congressman and they can expedite it for you, but after speaking with a lovely lady at my congressman's office she assured me that it cannot be done, and showed me on the FBI's website where is even states that.

So, there is no way to expedite that process....am I right? Just triple checking here...lol.

shamash: Do you have any government website that says a congressman can expidite the process? Even the FBI's site said they cannot. (She asked for me to give her something that says a congressman can expedite it....this is why I'm asking)

shamash: Do you have any government website that says a congressman can expidite the process? Even the FBI's site said they cannot. (She asked for me to give her something that says a congressman can expedite it....this is why I'm asking)

I believe the idea is that they can "help" you do this if their office has a connection at the FBI and is willing to contact them. From what I've seen, there is no statement of this power, because it is not an officially recognized option (hence why not everyone does it). It is a favor, basically. If your rep's office is being obstinate, ask to speak to a supervisor or the rep themselves. The person who is blocking you is probably not aware that she can use her office to help her constituents around red tape. Or she just doesn't want to help. Could be either. My CRC was processed in one day after I called my rep. Good luck.

Could you tell me what an FBI channeler is? I'm also going through the same thing. I was planning on just paying someone to do it for me since it's such a pain in the ass to do .

An FBI Channeler is an FBI-approved company that will get a COPY of your official background check within a matter of days. I thought everything would be just fine since on the FBI's website they have a list of the few companies that they approve to expedite it.

The problem though, is that since you're getting it through a channeler and not directly from the FBI, it cannot be Apostilled...only notarized (I didn't know this ahead of time). Anyway the company that expedited my attempted Apostille gave me a separate Apostille and so I've given all of that to kimmi. They said they will have to review it and let me know in a few days if they will accept it or not.

Will keep you posted, but I would say for future reference don't go through a channeler.

Could you tell me what an FBI channeler is? I'm also going through the same thing. I was planning on just paying someone to do it for me since it's such a pain in the ass to do .

An FBI Channeler is an FBI-approved company that will get a COPY of your official background check within a matter of days. I thought everything would be just fine since on the FBI's website they have a list of the few companies that they approve to expedite it.

The problem though, is that since you're getting it through a channeler and not directly from the FBI, it cannot be Apostilled...only notarized (I didn't know this ahead of time). Anyway the company that expedited my attempted Apostille gave me a separate Apostille and so I've given all of that to kimmi. They said they will have to review it and let me know in a few days if they will accept it or not.

Will keep you posted, but I would say for future reference don't go through a channeler. :(

I'm feeling pretty crushed right now.
I had forgotten about the request process and fingerprinting. I submitted some request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. The document I got is useless, of course.

If anyone else can provide more information about CBC channeling & apostille, please do ASAP.

So yeah, I found out that immigration will not accept it through an FBI approved channeler. This is obviously frustrating since it is an official copy approved by the FBI and only took 3 days as compared to now having to wait about 3 months.

I'm afraid there is just no way to get this expedited. I've heard of people getting their congressman to "make a call" and speed up the process, but I have yet to see any official website that says this is possible.

shamash: Do you have any government website that says a congressman can expidite the process? Even the FBI's site said they cannot. (She asked for me to give her something that says a congressman can expedite it....this is why I'm asking)

I believe the idea is that they can "help" you do this if their office has a connection at the FBI and is willing to contact them. From what I've seen, there is no statement of this power, because it is not an officially recognized option (hence why not everyone does it). It is a favor, basically. If your rep's office is being obstinate, ask to speak to a supervisor or the rep themselves. The person who is blocking you is probably not aware that she can use her office to help her constituents around red tape. Or she just doesn't want to help. Could be either. My CRC was processed in one day after I called my rep. Good luck.

Repeated for emphasis. You are NOT going to see this officially listed on any website other than expat forums like this, because it is NOT an official service. Your congressman is there to serve constituents - that means YOU. After you follow the requirements on the FBI site and it has been received, give it a try. Be polite and specific about what you need and see what happens.

Repeated for emphasis. You are NOT going to see this officially listed on any website other than expat forums like this, because it is NOT an official service. Your congressman is there to serve constituents - that means YOU. After you follow the requirements on the FBI site and it has been received, give it a try. Be polite and specific about what you need and see what happens.

That page details the approved Channelers. The FBI channelers are what the previous poster was having trouble with. My understanding of that option is it is for background checks that might be required for in-country verification (i.e. jobs in the US).

Korean immigration, it seems, will not accept the channeler obtained CRCs.

There are still no official sites that will list congress representative expedition, because it is not an official policy. It will either work for you or it won't. Anyone living abroad will need to learn to negotiate bureaucracy, so consider it good practice in working between the lines.

I'm so glad I got a job with an E-1 visa so I don't have to do this stuff anymore. Good luck and order early!

Repeated for emphasis. You are NOT going to see this officially listed on any website other than expat forums like this, because it is NOT an official service. Your congressman is there to serve constituents - that means YOU. After you follow the requirements on the FBI site and it has been received, give it a try. Be polite and specific about what you need and see what happens.

thanks for this useful information. I was about to use an FBI approved channeler but after reading this post it seems like it would be a waste of money. I guess I can call the Korean Consulate to double check.

I came to Korea in March of 2012. But it almost didn't happen. I requested my CRC (the correct, official procedure - fingerprints, request for 'division head' to notarize, sent via UPS with return envelope provided) in October of 2011 planning on a start in March 2012.

I recieved my CRC (complete with the nifty notary seal) in the mail in December of 2011. Plenty of time! No worries! So I placed it in a good 'ole United Stated Postal envelope and sent it to an apostille service for the federal apostille.

Then the USPS managed to lose it. Without a trace! 2 months of waiting, all down the drain.

Then I looked on my congressperson's website. There was a section about "what can I help you with?" which had contact information and even a printable form you could use to relay your sob story to the congressperson's office. I printed, and proceded to blab about lost mail and fractured dreams, etc... I then faxed the form to the office of said congressman.

Shortly there after, (I mean like 30 minutes) I received a call from the congressman's office. Judy was a really nice lady and understood the frustrations of lost mail. Luckily, she also responded to my "southern gentleman" phone flirting.

She told me to send another "request" packet (fingerprints, return postage, request for notary, etc) and call her back with the UPS/FED-EX (whatever you choose to ship with) tracking number.

After I sent out the request packet, I called Judy from Congressman Bob's office and told her the tracking number. They have a special list of numbers that they can call government agencies and get higher level service. This is used in case they need to rush travel documents for interns or for political reasons.

Once the packet arrived at the FBI building in West Virginia, it was immediately intercepted by a "boss" who walked it through the process, without it ever being put in que.

I received my second CRC back in 4 days, total time including overnight shipping. The first one was 9 weeks. I sent the second CRC to the apostille dudes via FED-EX and got it back in a week.

I know this is a long read, but it very much can be done. You have to be very kind to the office staff of your local congressperson (flirting doesn't hurt, if you're good at it) and beg for help, don't demand. Make sure it's a real issue, not just impatience.